This application claims the priority of Italian patent application serial No. MI2002A 001030, filed on May 14, 2002.
The present invention relates to a device for supplying additives to machines for filling containers with a fluid product and an associated filling machine.
In the technical sector relating to the packaging of liquid and/or fluid products, so-called filling machines are known, said machines being able to introduce automatically a programmed quantity of product into individual containers which are subsequently sealed and conveyed away for boxing.
It is also known that these machines are formed by a circular platform onto which the empty containers are fed and arranged at regular angular intervals so that, by imparting a rotational movement to the platform, said containers are arranged in a coaxial position underneath fixed heads for delivering the quantity of product envisaged for filling the container.
It is also known that these delivery heads are connected to supply ducts radially connected to a central header into which the product to be packaged flows.
As a result of this configuration, it is required to prepare different types of finished product before they are supplied to the machine, resulting in considerable storage problems and a reduced flexibility of the machine, which is also subject to a notable downtime due to the need to change over the product storage vessels and the need to perform complicated machine flushing-out operations when the products are changed.
Since said products are normally obtained from a base formulation to which suitable additives specifically intended for the particular function of the finished product are added, the problem arises of providing container filling machines in which it is possible to supply a base product with the selective addition of different additives during the continuous operation of the machine.
Within the scope of this problem it is also required that said additives should be able to be added in a selective manner also in relation to different product delivery heads so that, during the same operating cycle, the containers may be filled with different finished products.
In addition, it is required that the devices able to provide a solution to the abovementioned technical problems should be simple and inexpensive to produce and able to be applied easily to machines of the known type without the need for complicated accessories.
This technical problem is solved according to the present invention by a device for supplying additives to machines for filling containers with a fluid product supplied to delivery heads by means of a header and distribution ducts, which comprises means for supplying said additives to the said header receiving the base product.